Rajasthan Royals playing 11 from Heinrich Klaasen's IPL debut in 2018 - where are they now?
Versatile South African batter Heinrich Klaasen is celebrating his 33rd birthday on Tuesday, July 30. Having made his international debut in February 2018, the right-handed keeper-batter has gone on to establish himself as one of the key members of Proteas' white-ball squads.
In 54 ODIs, Klaasen has scored 1723 runs at an average of 40.06 and a strike rate of 115.17, with four hundreds and six fifties. Looking at his T20I numbers, he has featured in 52 games and has scored 912 runs at a strike rate of 142.72, with five half-centuries. He has only played four Tests, scoring 104 runs, averaging 13.
The dangerous South African batter has an impressive record in the Indian Premier League (IPL). In 35 matches, he has hammered 993 runs at an average of 38.19 and a strike rate of 168.31, with one hundred and six fifties. While he currently represents Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the T20 league, he made his debut for Rajasthan Royals (RR) against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in 2018.
Opening the batting in the match played at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, Klaasen was dismissed for a run-a-ball 7, bowled by Shardul Thakur. CSK went on to win the game by 64 runs. On the South African batter's birthday, we look at where his teammates from his debut IPL match are now.
Opener: Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane opened the batting with Klaasen in the latter's IPL debut game. He was out for 16 in the match, bowled by Deepak Chahar. Rahane has not played international cricket for India since the Port of Spain Test against West Indies in July 2023.
Rahane was the captain of the Mumbai team that won the 2024 Ranji Trophy, beating Vidarbha by 169 runs in the final. The 36-year-old scored 73 in the second innings. He is currently representing Leicestershire in the One-Day Cup and scored 71 off 60 balls in a game against Nottinghamshire.
Middle-order & All-rounders: Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Rahul Tripathi, Stuart Binny
India's wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson was dismissed for 2 in Klaasen's IPL debut game. He has been in and out of the national white-ball team. Samson is currently part of India's T20I squad in Sri Lanka, but has not been picked for the ODIs. He is the captain of Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.
Ben Stokes, who top-scored for RR with 45 in Klaasen's IPL debut game, is current Test captain of the England team. Under him, the Englishmen recently whitewashed West Indies 3-0 at home. Stokes slammed 54 off 59 and 57* off 28 in the recently concluded Test in Birmingham.
Keeper-batter Jos Buttler is England's current white-ball captain. Under the 33-year-old, the Englishmen failed to defend their T20 World Cup title, going down to India in the semifinal by 68 runs in Guyana. Buttler was dismissed for 23 off 15.
Rahul Tripathi was out for a run-a-ball five in Klaasen's IPL debut match for RR. He is now the South African cricketer's IPL teammate at Sunrisers Hyderabad as well. The 33-year-old was part of the SRH squad that reached the IPL 2024 final. Tripathi contributed 165 runs in six matches at a strike rate of 143.48.
Former India all-rounder, Stuart Binny played six Tests, 14 ODIs and three T20Is. He registered sensational figures of 6-4 in a one-dayer against Bangladesh in 2014. Binny retired from all forms of cricket in August 2021. He represented Urbanrisers Hyderabad in Legends League Cricket in December 2023.
Bowlers: Krishnappa Gowtham, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Ben Laughlin
Off-spinner Krishnappa Gowtham registered figures of 0-35 from three overs in Klaasen's IPL debut match. He made headlines when he was purchased for a whopping ₹9.25 crore by CSK during the IPL 2021 auction. The 35-year-old played one ODI for India against Sri Lanka in Colombo in July 2021. He was part of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) franchise in IPL 2024, but played only one game.
Leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal was highly impressive in Klaasen's IPL debut match. He registered figures of 3-20 from four overs. The Karnataka-born cricketer played three games for Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2024, claiming three wickets. He was purchased for ₹7.6 lakh by Mangaluru Dragons at the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 Player Auction that was held recently.
Experienced Indian left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat was Klaasen's teammate at SRH in IPL 2024. He played 11 matches and claimed eight wickets at a rather high economy rate of 10.24. The 32-year-old was part of the Indian team that visited West Indies last year, featuring in both the Test and the one-day series.
Ben Laughlin impressed with 2-38 in Klaasen's IPL debut match. The 41-year-old last featured in the Big Bash League (BBL) in 2021. He picked up 111 wickets in 96 matches in the T20 league. Laughlin represented Australia in the World Championship of Legends held earlier this month.